All our troubles are over! It is 2021!

February, 2021.

It can’t be!

Wasn’t it just 2019? 2020 was a blurrrrr wasn’t it? All I remember was:

• 2020 is going to be an amazing year!

• What is Covid?

• We have to close down what??????????????

• I have to work at home now?

• Let’s retire.

• Restaurants are closed?

• WE NEED A VACCINE!

• What is open now?

  • What?? They are still closed?

• Let’s go to dinner. What??? We can’t???

• Then December hit and we both got the virus. We were both blessed and had minimal symptoms.

• I can’t wait until 2021 – everything will be OK!

So here we are! 2021.

• Retired.

• 66.

• Waiting to get the vaccine – still – even though I’m an asthmatic.

• Hoping and praying that a new year “fixes” everything – as so many others pray the same.

New Year. New President. Vaccines are here. We’ve now administered about 10 vaccines per 100 people and that number continues to grow.

The Google machine says that 800 small businesses are closing daily across America. 2021 hasn’t solved it . . . yet. Seems to be that our congressmen and senators can’t agree that the Super Bowl is February 7th.

Mary Kay and I must tell each other several times a week, “Sure glad we are retired and don’t have to worry about it!” Some may accuse us of taking the chicken’s way out. We’ve both been working over 50 years of our life and, respectfully, would disagree with them. Doesn’t mean, however, that those who are affected by this situation aren’t daily in our prayers. That’s all we know how to do to help and believe that is what everybody should be doing.

Our focus today is on our family. MK’s five sibs, my three kids, and our nine grandkids and too-many-to-count nephews, nieces, cousins, and other family members. We know many have been affected by this.

One son, in the National Guard, was deployed to Washington D.C. for the inauguration with 25,000 other soldiers and police officers. Fortunately, there was little unrest with that much coverage. Unfortunately they were a week late for the mess that occurred at the Capitol. “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave”.

What a fine example we were for other countries when our Pledge of Allegiance included the words, “One Nation, Under God” and our currency says, “In God We Trust”. Guess we, too often, forget those words and don’t read the writing on our currency. We just look at the number.

2021. John Lennon’s songs would be #1 on the charts if he were still alive.

I’m trying to sit back and watch and see. I know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. America can’t be fixed in a day. But, we can . . . and should . . . pray every day. Maybe it will take saying the Pledge every day to remember who we are. Maybe we should look at the currency in our wallets every day and read the back of every bill.

Maybe we should start doing random acts of kindness. Maybe we should pay it forward. For sure, however, we have to count our blessings every day. Doing this 365 times this year can, and will, make a difference!

Oh, one more thing. Remember to stay in touch with your legislators so your voice is heard. 2 years isn’t that far away. They don’t want to lose their jobs!